Honey (?) Amber Ale

[escobar090]

Hey guys, after a while a week ago I finished my first batch (AG), but the OG went a little too short than i expected (mainly because of the grain mill, i think),

I got 1,043 instead of 1,052. Its an amber ale, and its been in the fermenter for a week now. The thing is i was thinking of adding some honey into the fermenter (or secondary if neccesary) to get the gravity a little bit higher. (The FG should be 1,012)

Is that possible? Will it add some honey flavour to the final beer?,

In the case of adding any sugar, how do you know how many "gravity points" were added to the fermenting beer?, how do you know the final ABV

thanks in advance.

 

[Golddiggie]

Depending on the honey, and how much you add to primary (don't do secondary for ales, IMO/IME, it's not worth the effort), you might get a slight hint in bottle/keg. How much gravity points you'll get also depends on the honey, since it's a substance produced by biologicals, it can vary. You could just plug the recipe into BeerSmith 2.1.x and see what adding different amounts of honey will do to the batch. A pound of honey, on average, has 35 gravity points potential in it. Meaning it will increase a 1 gallon wort by 35 points when added. So, you'll get about 7 gravity points from a single pound, in a 5 gallon batch. IME, that's not enough to add flavors. Also, be aware that you'll probably have a slightly lower FG with the addition (a point or two).

I would highly advise downloading the trial of BeerSmith 2.1 and give it a try. You'll have 21 days to decide if you want to keep it (and purchase a license) or not. I bought it a while back and haven't regretted it for an instant.

 

[frazier]

My first advice would be to leave the beer alone. It's not the last beer you will ever make, so take it as a learning experience. And remember, it will still be beer!

Honey doesn't add much honey flavor - it all gets fermented away. But if you added a pound, it would raise the effective OG to about 1.052 (44 points per gallon / 5gal = 9pts). IF honey is 44 ppg, can't really remember right now.

ETA: I see I was wrong about the gravity contribution of honey.

 

[Golddiggie]

My first advice would be to leave the beer alone. It's not the last beer you will ever make, so take it as a learning experience. And remember, it will still be beer!

Honey doesn't add much honey flavor - it all gets fermented away. But if you added a pound, it would raise the effective OG to about 1.052 (44 points per gallon / 5gal = 9pts). IF honey is 44 ppg, can't really remember right now.

The 'standard' is 35ppg... As I posted a few minutes ago... That's IF the honey is 76% sugar. Depending on the honey type, source, season, point in the season it was harvested, it can be more, or less, than that.

Confused yet???

IMO/IME honey is far better used in making mead. :rockin:

 

[escobar090]

Thanks guys, ill just leave it there, another question, if i got a lower OG than expected, what difference does it make in the final beer? For instance, not so sweet, or just have different alcohol content?